Saturday, December 31, 2016

To celebrate the year 2016, ACC Alpha has had quite a number of recent changes, and BIG ones which you can read about in recent posts. Refinements continue to be underway, most evident at the sea level of the Studio of Builds arena (right beneath Paper Tower Court). This ancient aquarium from 2010 has been remodeled to fit a small town, warmly referred to by the residents as "Venice Under Glass". It is part of the expansive Studio of Builds museum, and if you fall into the water and sink to the bottom of the sea, you will find yourself in yet another museum gallery called The Dead Mariner's Treasury.

Garden below painting of dancer by Tishati.

Artwork by Ziki Questi at the Orange Gallery.

Various artists' works can be seen in the arena area, including Tishati's painting of a dancer at the garden. There is an exhibit of Ziki Questi's work in the Orange Gallery in Venice Under Glass, as well as a special exhibit dedicated to "Cruelty of Peace" by Lilia Artis. These pictures of her exhibit on the LEA6 sim will come down today at midnight, so I wanted to preserve it in some way on ACC Alpha. If you read this post before the end of the day, there is still time to see Cruelty of Peace. Both Lilia and I are burning the midnight oil to film her creation before it disappears shortly. I will post a link when it is complete. We intend to spend some time in making the movie, reflecting Lilia's philosophy of making everything from scratch. All the terraforming on her LEA6 sim, mesh and textures are by Lilia, and the film will be the music that she and I create also.

Views of "Cruelty of Peace" by Lilia Artis. Still on view at the LEA6 simuntil the end of the night December 31.

The Peace Gallery seen in the middle of the photo with melting Baroquefacade is where images from Cruelty of Peace are displayed.

As 2016 is honored at ACC Alpha, so 2017 is welcomed. On Saturday, January 14th at 1 PM SLT, Paradox Messmer will have an opening of his works at the Dead Mariner's Treasury. There will be an announcement prior to the opening with more information.

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Silas Merlin presents his first full sim exhibit: "The Brother's Tale". It is only up for a short time, so run to see it by Dec. 27. He had not originally intended to announce it to the public, but I asked if I could make a film and tell a few people. Actually, I was nearly whining. I couldn't imagine keeping this from visitors.

Silas has been altering the land textures and windlight from time to time, so this post captures a slot in time with his exquisite pastel land. The film shows an earlier land texture.

If you are able to visit before the sim comes down, make sure to go inside the ruins and walk over its top. It is not a large structure, but the irregularity of the plan expands the feeling of size, and is laid out for a sense of adventure. The organic layout reminds me in some ways to tide pools. What you find inside is of particular interest. Tic the Advanced Lighting Model in preferences for the full effect of Silas' statues, including the goblet on the table inside the ruins. There is also a page of Silas' story written on a book in that same room.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Until the end of
December, Lilia Artis is displaying her build “The Cruelty of Peace” on the LEA 6 sim.

What may appear as a
beautifully tranquil setting upon arrival, The
Cruelty of Peace has another tale in store for the visitor. It is not a
fairytale, but a harsh reality that millions suffer. In this personal view,
Lilia focuses on one family unit. In their tragic fall among the vast
landscape, one can imagine the sense of solitude one may feel in the last
moments just before war burns life away. This is the palette the artist seems
to have chosen, a million souls represented by one family. But Lilia goes yet
another step further.

In her own words:

"War just never
seems to end. It turned into a background noise while we are having breakfast
or dinner and live our everyday lives," says the artist. "The news
shows there seems to be no limit to the cruelty of what human beings do to other
human beings, to men, women, children. And then there is the ongoing
destruction of our environment. Hearing about ever growing pollution, a
question rises in my head: what is the reality of peace? Is it only possible
when the human race becomes extinct?"

The Cruelty
of Peacewill remain on display through the month of December.

The land rumbled. Buildings and trees shook. All around,
living beings held their breaths, was it an earthquake?

A fault line has
skimmed the ancient Paper Tower area of ACC Alpha since a mishap in Second Life
years ago, which returned many residents’ mega prims. The base and ceiling of
the arena was one of the victims. Fearing future disasters, the scientists have
been squeezing high quality glue into the cracks of the faults. Skeptics challenge its
efficacy. Two days ago, an architectural glue was applied: a web of houses
now expands over the bay like a binding blanket. The idea of the overlapping, similarly sized houses, comes from a natural formation in Iceland, where one finds basaltic hexagons covering a large area of
land. They look like human constructions, but are in fact wholly sculpted by Nature. In the case at Accentaury,
the square and rectangular floor plans take precedence over the hexagons for a particular reason; their
geometry is easier to read as they overlap one another. And overlapping is key,
for this giant bib spanning the bay is indeed a bridge. If the
visitor is careful, they may avoid falling through open spaces to the bottom of
the bay. For those who do sink to the seafloor, there is plenty to see under the waves.

Looking onto the Basaltic Herd with Medusa Locks in the center and right background.

AND IF YOU FALL BETWEEN THE FLOATING HOUSES...

IF YOU SINK

TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA,

WHAT MIGHT YOU FIND?

Looking up, underneath the Basaltic Herd from the seabed.
Most of the so called paper buildings at Accentaury have translucent interiors,
please step inside for some unusual visual views of the city.

Entrance to the remodeled space under the Paper Tower Court. This part of
the museum is under the sea. Its name is "The Dead Mariner's Treasury".

The Dead Mariner's Treasury plans to rotate exhibits every three months. Installed now,
through March 2017 is the portrait work of Paradox Messmer.

WHAT IS BEHIND THE NEW RETAINING WALLS?

"Venice Under Glass"

Lilia visiting the new installation of what used to be the ancient aquarium.
The enormous colonnade called the 'Golden Corridor' dates to 2010.
It is one of the oldest structures on the sim.

Tour the art in Venice Under Glass with the hydrobicycles. Just click to RIDE.
Artworks are generally installed on the outsides of buildings.

Riding through the canals, this cycling avatar notices the visitor standing
above through the glass ceiling. The standing man is on the Paper Tower Court.

With the application of the ‘housing glue’, the Paper Tower
Court is now more solidly supported. The circular colonnade which forms the
lower level has become enclosed to such an extent, as one might call it a cave.
The new walls do not shut out the light, to the contrary, the glass bottom
floor of the Court allows the sun to illuminate a new scene where the giant
aquarium used to be (the ancient sharks now live under the sea). Venice Under Glass is a gallery of canals, as this building which houses it has always been part of the museum. There is a hydro
bike which visitors may ride for a slow tour along the canals of the gallery
space. If you step off the bike in mid water, you will find yourself sink into
yet another gallery beneath the sea. Of course, the city of Accentaury tends to
favor layers, so the whole is rather like a labyrinth.

THE HERD

Crossing over the basaltic inspired housing, flocks of animals cross the bay in large number.

This first herd of centaurs, a couple deer, and many hares cross the bay carrying
their ship high above the water to prevent it from getting wet.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

The new lawn makes the park feel more open, but if you cam beneath the bladesof grass, you will see the original landscaping which endures year after year.

The old House of
Accentaury, established in this building in early 2012, had once been a shop,
then a meditation hall, and now a restaurant with the new name: Menagerie Court.
Not only was the interior redecorated, but the park which it faces has also
been simplified with a wide open lawn. Conforming to the theme of the sim, more
animals find their home in this quarter of the city. The restaurant is set up
with seven tables so there is plenty of seating for visitors, a stage for
entertainment and / or lectures, and even a special soy turkey! When clicking
on a chair to sit, the guest will see a menu, for which they can choose a meal.
You can find the restaurant at the ACC Alpha sim, on the high plateau in the city.

Dine in comfort, and enjoy the peacock entertainment. You can pet the tigersat the fountain. Once seated, click your chair for a menu of meals.

I made a film of Menagerie Court HERE. Many
thanks to the people who arrived on the sim to be included in the video. It was
a wonderful couple days.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Eleseren Brianna and John Brianna from Kultivate Magazine had invited me to create a runway for the Art Diva! fashion show, which celebrates the first year anniversary of "The Edge". After all the months of preparation, it gave me great pleasure to see the whole event come to life. The exquisite fashion of Lyrical Bizarre brought much grace, color, and style to the show. Before her line of clothing, the AIM agency presented a segment of ballet, descended from the clouds, after A Midsummer Night. It was a great surprise to me, as I hadn't been told the programme. The finale was a firework show that painted the scene in color and light as you'll see in the film. After the fashion show, John and Eles had also arranged a special opening focused on my build, where we were entertained by the great singing of Dimi, and we danced to celebrate this unique event. I was very much a member of the audience, not knowing what was coming next while I filmed. The build will remain in place about 4,000 meters up in the sky at the Water Haven sim until the end of November.

Friday, September 30, 2016

One of the spectacular sims I'd discovered in my newbie days in Second Life was Fallen Gods. Signs indicate that it has just undergone a major remodel in preparation for the anniversary which starts tomorrow. I walked around in awe, as if I were a newbie once again. It remains one of the finest examples of artistry across the grid. I'm quite excited to be able to participate in the hunt. Below you will see two gifts I made for the event. But first, the hunt includes a schedule of exciting events listed here.

Schedule of events held at Fallen Gods

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There are superbly beautiful areas to discover all over the sim.

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A plateau above the Fallen Gods store hosts a market area, and this is where
my vendor for the pavilion is set up.

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I made a variation of the Steward's Pavilion at ACC Alpha for this anniversary
at Fallen Gods. It's a gift when you click.

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I also made the lady in the background as a gift for the anniversary. She is the
Herbal Medusa. This is in the heart of the ACC Alpha sim, right at the entry
to Paper Tower Court. The serpent and egg ring in the foreground figure is the
key to obtaining the Medusa gift.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Inside the large gallery room beneath the Library of Darkrodin.
The spiral staircase between the paintings leads up to the Library.

In the previous
run of LEA exhibits, Gem Preiz had set up his new works, as well as a
retrospective of his past installations. Lilia and I explored all of its
wonders. I took particular interest in a new series he calls “WRECKS”. The awe
inspiring fractals, meticulously worked in detail, are complemented by a fine
story Gem wrote. Each room, and these were enormous rooms to accommodate the
monolithic canvases, included a panel with a page from the tale. The surface of
the canvases are comprised of around 20 cubes (I haven’t yet actually counted them)
so that when you approach the artwork, you see increasing degrees of detail. The
story itself is on a large scale, yet intimate, and beckons the visitor to walk
into this environment of outer space, all the walls aglitter with stars enlivening
the eternal black upon which the canvases float. I made a film tour of Wrecks which you can watch by clicking HERE.

Recently, after
having the good fortune to acquire some of Gem’s new pieces, I terraformed a
small section of Accentaury’s mesa, to create a new ramp leading to the underwater
gallery directly beneath the Library of Darkrodin. Remodeling the massive
room, I placed five large works by Gem in the new space and the area leading up to it. All but one, are from his installation
WRECKS. It’s easy to find the entry. A loggia with many pillars is the only
building along the beach on the east shores of the sim. The reflecting pond
beckons the visitor to enter. The story is not posted in this gallery, but the whole of it can be read on the film mentioned above.

The Gem Loggia on the beach in the East side of the sim.
Descend the reflecting pond inside the building to access the exhibit.